Saturday, May 5, 2007

George Bush: Lead weight in the struggling Republican balloon

George Bush now has the lowest presidential approval rating in a generation - 28%. This is according to a Newsweek poll. I am grateful to Simon Hoggart for pointing this out, in a piece about the pollster John Zogby, who "said George Bush's current 28% approval rating was the lowest ever recorded for any president - except Richard Nixon, two days before he resigned, and Harry Truman after he sacked General MacArthur." (I also found reference to Jimmy Carter having a 28% rating for one week in 1979.)

Interestingly, Zogby also 'thought that Hurricane Katrina would actually have a longer term effect on American politics than 9/11 did. The terrorist attack had created a consensus, whereas Katrina had proved that federal government simply doesn't work any more."

As an extra twist, rather like a lead weight in a hot air balloon struggling for altitude, George Bush is pulling down the ratings of all his Republican colleagues who are 2008 Presidential hopefuls. As rawstory.com comments: "The Newsweek Poll finds each of the leading Democratic contenders beating the Republican frontrunners in head-to-head matchups."